Method of treating cotton plants



Patented Jan. 8, 1929.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM EGGERT, J R., 01? BRIGHTWATERS, NEW YORK.

METHOD OF TREATING COTTON PLANTS.

No Drawing. Original application filed December 22, 1924, Serial No.757, 44l. Patent No. 1,686,964.

' Divided and this application filed December 31, 1925. Serial No.78,538. i

This invention relates to improvements in methods of treating cottonplants and has among its objects the provision of methods and means forimproving the quality, increasing the yield, repelling insect attacks,and retarding deterioration as hereinafter described.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdescription, and

the invention will be specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

The subject matter of this invention. was disclosed in my copendingapplication for Letters Patent for methods of treating plants, filedDecember 22,1924, which has matured into Patent No. 1,686,964, but isnot claimed therein, this application being a division of said copendingapplication.

Forthe purpose of obtaining an improved seed from cotton plants, I makeuse of the blossoms, stems and adjacent leaves of cotton plants of thesame variety as those to be treated, and prepare from them a putrefiedliquid extract to which I shall hereafter refer as mothers milk. Theblossoms, leaves and stems are placed in a crock or barrel, weighteddown, covered with water and kept in a temperature favorable forfermentation. After five days of the first stage of alcoholicfermentation the contents of the barrel or crock should be macerated andpermitted to ferment fora second period of five to ten days through theputre faetive fermentation stage, at the end of which period the mass ispressed and strained, the-resultant fluid being what I have referred to,as mothers milk.

If desired, a suitable vegetable material of I another variety of plantmay be added to the materials used in fermentation, to induce the plantto which it is to be applied as food to take it into its system byabsorption through the roots. \Vhen such added material is not freelysoluble in water it is necessary to boil the additional material in amixture of \vater and ashes obtained from the variety of plant intendedto be fed for the purpose of producing improved seeds with firmerinclinations of desired description. The proportion of ashes andvegetable product to be added should be about one pound of ashes andabout one pound of selected vegetable product to one gallon of water;all to be boiled together for about one-half hour; then strained througha very loose clothor plants.

coarse sieve, so that the ashes may remain in the fluid. This solutionof ashes is to be added to the putrefied liquid extract after the latteris entirely through the fermenting process, at the rate of one gallon ofashes solution to four gallons of mothers milk. i i

There should also be added to the mothers milk preparation a saccharinecompound such as molasses, honey or sugar, the proportions beingvariable according to the re sults desired. A suitable mixture has beenobtained by using two pounds of saccharine compound with each fivegallons'of mothers milk. Y

The resultant mixture may be applied to the plant at its roots in abasin-like formation of the soil around its stalk during the blossomingperiod, the soil to be formed as a basin of approximately three inchesin depth and ten inches in diameter. sorption may be facilitated bythrusting a slender stick down through the deposited fluid into the soilbelow for about six inches in several directions. When the preparationThe ab- 7 plant, the soil used as a wall to form the basin is brushed,into the'basin, leaving the surface about the plant the same as it wasbefore. The blossoming period of cotton extends over a period of threemonths or longer, and it is preferable to treat the plant as abovedescribed once in each month during said blossoming period.

Seeds from the cotton plant so treated are kept and planted in the.following season, some being planted for the production of a smallexperimental crop to determine the extent of improvement in the product,and the remainder being used for growing new seed the improved seeds,are treated in the same manner as were their parent plants, and ifdesired such treatments may be repeated for several successive years, bywhich method improved seeds are obtained which may be used for generalcrop pprposcs to raise greatly improved products.

By this method of treating' jilants I have, obtained finer qualities,greaterv uniformity, j

The new seed plants, grown from vary'than were obtained fthrough yearsof v and a far greater control over inclination to conc ntrationintended to furnish to eacheludes many times as much saccharine com- Iterial of another variety of plant may be pound as would trickle to itsroots when the blossoms are filled with rain to overflowing.

I have stated that a suitable vegetable maadded to the putrefied liquidextract. In this connection, I prefer to use green sassafras leaves andblossoms which I have found to induce insect-repelling properties, whileat the same time producing a finer fibre.

From the foregoing it will be evident that I have produced an improvedmethod of treating cotton plants. The invention is susceptible ofmodification, and the right is herein reserved to make such changes asfall within the scope of the appended claims without departing from thespirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. The method of treating seed-producing cotton plants consisting insupplying to the roots of the plant during its blossoming period afermented solution of cotton plant leaves and blossoms with a saccharinecompound combined with an extract of sassafras leaves. v

2. The method of treating seed-producing cotton plants consisting insupplying to the roots of the plant during its blossoming period aputrcfied liquid extract of cotton leaves and blossoms combined with anextract of sassafras leaves, and repeating the treatment in successiveyears to plants grown from the improved seeds produced in the previousyear.

3. The improved products of cotton plants consisting of products of thedesired variety of cottom which has been treated with a putrefied liquidextract of cotton leaves and blossoms combined with an extract ofsassafras leaves, the products being characterized by a change ascompared with the original plant whereby said products have a finerfiber and have insect-repelling properties.

I WILLIAM EGGERT, JR.

